Second Cataract Extraction More Painful Than The First?

A study conducted by Dr. Ursea confirms what I hear all the time- complaints by patients that the second eye surgery was longer and more painful than the first. She found that on a 1-10 score, the median of first surgery was a zero, and the second one a 1. She correctly assumes that it’s because patients have more anxiety in the first operation, and therefore are much more impressed by the lack of discomfort. I typically tell patients that the sedation they get in the first operation has an amnesic effect, and they therefore can’t remember the pain.